I've just released OrChat, a powerful CLI tool that lets you chat with any AI model available on OpenRouter directly from your terminal.

What My Project Does

OrChat is a terminal-based interface for interacting with various AI models through OpenRouter's API. It features:

• 📊 Advanced token counter for both input and output - perfect for prompt engineering practice

• 🎛️ Dynamic temperature adjustment to fine-tune model creativity on the fly

• 🖼️ Multimodal support for sharing images and files with compatible models

• 🧠 Smart thinking mode to see the AI's reasoning process

• 🎨 Rich markdown rendering in the terminal (code blocks, tables, etc.)

• 🔌 Plugin system for extending functionality

• 💾 Multiple export formats (MD, HTML, JSON, TXT, PDF)

Here's what it looks like in action: OrChat screenshot

Target Audience

This tool is designed for:

• Developers and prompt engineers who need precise token counting and model output testing

• Users who prefer a lightweight, distraction-free terminal interface over web apps

• Anyone who needs to test prompts across different AI models without switching interfaces

• People who want a customizable interface that can be extended with plugins

• Users looking for a fast, efficient way to interact with AI without the overhead of web browsers

Comparison

Unlike existing alternatives, OrChat:

• Focuses specifically on the terminal experience with rich markdown rendering, unlike web-based interfaces

• Provides real-time token counting for both input and output, which many interfaces lack

• Offers dynamic temperature adjustment during conversations, a feature missing in most clients

• Supports a plugin system that makes it more extensible than standard OpenAI clients

• Combines multimodal capabilities with terminal efficiency, unlike most CLI tools that sacrifice features for simplicity

• Offers multiple export formats in one interface, where other tools typically support only one or two formats

Getting Started

pip install orchat
orchat --setup

The setup wizard will guide you through connecting your OpenRouter API key and selecting your preferred model.

Practical Uses

• Prompt engineering practice with precise token counting

• Temperature experimentation to optimize model outputs

• Quick prototyping and ideation

• Code assistance with syntax highlighting

• Document analysis by attaching files

• Testing prompts across different models

• Saving conversations in various formats

The plugin system makes it easy to extend functionality - I've already added a few helpful plugins and am working on more.

Check out the GitHub repo for full documentation and let me know what you think! I'm actively looking for feedback and feature suggestions.

GitHub: https://github.com/oop7/OrChat